Do Good for God’s Glory

    I would like you to consider today what may be a familiar passage to you, Matthew 6:1-4 (please open your bible to this passage, I’ll wait J).

    Take note of the warning in the first verse: “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.” Jesus goes further in calling those who have this vainglorious heart “hypocrites” (v2) – because they were religious persons who behaved this way, both in the synagogues and in the streets; they did ‘good’ solely for men to see them, awe at them, and praise them for their falsely-motivated compassion.

    When we, as Christians, know that it is God who has created us in Christ Jesus for good works (Ephesians 2:10, consider Luke 17:10) and it is He who grants us the wherewithal to accomplish every good work (2 Corinthians 9:7-11) and it is He who commands us to keep doing good throughout our lifetime (Titus 2-3), and then we do our good works simply to get the “volunteer of the year” award, or to get our name and/or photo in the paper, or even just to hear from those around us, “You’re such a generous and caring person,” then we, too, are being hypocrites. We tell others to humbly obey God and joy in all that He provides, yet we, ourselves, chase after the temporal words and awards of men to motivate and bolster us. We, like the hypocrites in the 1^st century, have our reward: man’s fleeting praise.

    Don’t settle for that.

    Desiring man’s praise robs us of God’s praise. God will not praise us for the good we accomplish when our heart is motivated by self-promotion and vainglory; all we will receive is what man may (or may not) muster and that is a house built on shifting sand. But when we conduct ourselves daily with a God focused heart (giving Him thanks, praise, and glory for the blessings and abilities He has given that allow us to be a benefit to others) and quietly do our work “heartily as to the Lord, and not to men,” (Colossians 3:23), our Father will reward us: with more opportunities/responsibilities (Matthew 24:45-47; 25:21, 23, 29), with the reward of the inheritance (Colossians 3:24), with eternal life (Romans 2:6-7), with the crown of righteousness (2 Timothy 4:7-8), and with the crown of life (James 1:12), just to name a few!  

    Knowing this, let your charitable deeds and good works be done quietly and secretly, not livestreamed or posted/boasted about online. God, the perfect and righteous Judge, knows all that you have done, let that be enough. Praise God for His generous provision and thank Him for the opportunity to do some good for another and go on with your day. He will reward you (Matthew 6:4), and the reward from our glorious Father will be far above and beyond anything we could ever desire to receive from men.

“He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8 NKJV)

    Seek glory for God, not for yourself. Desire praise from God, not from man.

You can do it! So can I!! 

Flourish in Giving Thanks to God

    God, through the apostle Paul, tells us that we are to use our words for good, specifically for giving of thanks (read and consider Ephesians 5:1-4), and we are instructed to give thanks always for all things (Ephesians 5:19-20) and in everything (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18), so it is certainly an area of giving in which we need to be flourishing!

“…in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 NKJV)

    What can we give thanks for?

    A beginning place is thanking God daily for “life, breath, and all things” (Acts 17:25) because He is our Creator, Sustainer, and our faithful loving Father, but I think it is important to always work toward thanking God (and praising Him) for specific things. When we think about specifics we are developing a real gratitude for His wondrous blessings, and we are tuning our eyes to see them and preparing our hearts to give thanks to Him for each one of them!

“I will praise the name of God with a song, and I will magnify Him with thanksgiving.” (Psalm 69:30 NKJV)

Give Thanks to God For His Provision

    For His spiritual provision:

    God daily loads us with benefits, namely our salvation (Psalm 68:19)! Read and think on John 3:16-17, 1 John 4:9-10 and give thanks to God for qualifying us “to be partakers of the inheritance,” for delivering us, conveying us, redeeming us, and forgiving us (Colossians 1:12-14, also read Ephesians 1:3-23). Don’t limit your consideration and giving of thanks for Jesus’ sacrifice to just Sunday when you gather with the church to take communion (the Lord’s Supper), think about it and learn to appreciate it even more each day. Let your heart declare: “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57), “Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ” (2 Corinthians 2:14), and “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15)

    For His physical provision:

    God grants us ability to work and obtain an income (Deuteronomy 8:18) – have you thanked Him yet today for your job and your ability to do it?  Read and consider Matthew 6:25-34. God provides us with food, drink, and clothing when we determine to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. We are often taught as children to thank God for our meals, and most of us still purposefully pray in thanksgiving for our food, but how often do we pause in our closets and thank Him for our clothing? It’s another way to allow our thanksgiving to flourish!

    For His help in times of trouble:

    God is the Father of mercies and God of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3-4), and He grants us access to “come boldly to the throne of grace” – at any time, as many times as needed – “to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:15). He also wants to provide us with His peace – peace that guards our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus – all He asks of us is to give Him all our anxieties, make our requests known to Him through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6-7). We may be frequent in our asking for His help but do we follow up each help with a prayer of thanks?

Give Thanks to God For Our Brethren

    Paul provided us with many examples of proclaiming thanks to God for his brothers and sisters in Christ:

“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you with joy…” (Philippians 1:3-4)

“We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all the saints…” (Colossians 1:3-4)

“We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers…” (1 Thessalonians 1:2)

“We are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other…” (2 Thessalonians 1:3)

    See also 2 Timothy 1:3 and Philemon 4-5

    Have you given thanks to God for your brethren? They too are a provision from God – who help us in our walk (2 Timothy 2:22)!

Give Thanks to God For All People And Those in Authority

    God gives us clear instruction in how to speak about “all men, for kings and all who are in authority,” – this includes MPs, MPPs, Prime Ministers, Governor-Generals, Senators, Governors, Members of Congress, Vice Presidents, Presidents, and those campaigning for these positions – we are to make supplications (fervent, heartfelt pleas), intercessions (pray on their behalf), and giving of thanks for all of them. We, who know God, who know of His power and ability, who know of His goodness and love, are to be praying for these men and women – fervently, diligently, humbly, imploringly and thankfully! They too are a provision from God (read and think on Romans 13:1-7)!

Give Thanks to God Continually With Praise:

    Whatever we do in word or deed, we are to do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, and we are to give thanks to the Father through Him (Colossians 3:17) – thanking God for life, ability, mobility, His blessings (health, nourishment, clothing, our senses, transportation), His grace (forgiveness, His word to guide us, His help, etc.), and for opportunities to do good (Ephesians 2:10, Galatians 6:9-10, Titus 3:14).

“Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” (Hebrews 13:15 NKJV)

• If you awoke to this day – give thanks to God!
• If you have heard the gospel and obeyed it – give thanks to God!
• If you have obeyed God’s commands and discovered His wisdom in providing those instructions – give thanks to God!
• If you had food to eat, water to drink, and clothing to wear - give thanks to God!
• If you see His goodness in your day (Matthew 5:16) – give thanks to God!
• If you have been helped by your brethren – give thanks to God!
• If you were able to help another person – give thanks to God!
• If you have asked Him for help and been helped – give thanks to God!
• If you live in a country that has laws for your safety – give thanks to God!

    Give thanks to God often and always! Be specific – it will help you to remember and appreciate all that God has done, all that He continues to do, and all that He promises to do! Are you ready to flourish in giving? Give thanks to God!

You can do it! So can I!!